Anti-tobacco activists in India have got support from Canada’s largest national cancer charity, Canadian Cancer Society, which has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Health Minister JP Nadda to implement the new pictorial health warnings on tobacco products in India from April 1, 2015. The letter says that by requiring the new tobacco package to have health warnings, the Indian Government has demonstrated national and international leadership. These new, larger tobacco package health warnings will reduce tobacco use and consequently tobacco caused disease and death.
Rob Cunningham, Senior Policy Analyst from Canadian Cancer Society said in the letter with the new changes, India will have a new rank equal to that of Thailand which had the largest package health warnings in the world at 85 per cent of the package front and back. The letter further said that if countries such as Thailand, Australia and Uruguay can implement similar size warnings, there is no reason why India cannot as well.
Dr. Mira Aghi, WHO awardee and winner of luther Terry Award for tobacco control, said, “This is an important public health measure which will go a long way in saving millions of lives. It is a known fact that picture health warnings are more effective than text-only warnings, especially for people who are illiterate.”